AH! YES is Made Safe!
We're thrilled to announce that we've been awarded the MADE SAFE® certification!
Great news! We’ve been awarded the MADE SAFE® certification for AH! YES WB water-based personal lubricant, AH! YES OB plant-oil based personal lubricant, and AH! YES VM vaginal moisturizer. We’ve always been committed to putting our customers’ health and wellbeing first, by making products with certified organic, body-safe ingredients, and so we’re proud to prove it with this certification.
What is the MADE SAFE® certification?
The MADE SAFE seal means that products have been through a rigorous examination process to ensure they’re made without known behavioral toxins, carcinogens, developmental toxins, endocrine disruptors, flame retardants, heavy metals, neurotoxins, high risk pesticides, reproductive toxins, toxic solvents, or harmful VOCs. The ingredients are then further studied by a chemist for bioaccumulation (build-up of chemicals in our bodies), persistence (build-up of chemicals in the environment), general ecosystem harm, as well as for aquatic and animal toxicity.
Products that have earned the MADE SAFE seal have passed this intensive testing procedure and are literally made with safe ingredients™ not known or suspected to harm human health, animals or ecosystems.
Why is the MADE SAFE® seal important?
Surely a company wouldn’t produce a product containing potentially harmful ingredients?
As Sarah and Susi discovered whilst analysing other competitors’ products, this was (and still is) indeed the case. Many intimate care products contain synthetic additives or chemicals including parabens, glycerine and glycols, which can actually cause irritation to the delicate vulval tissues.
This, alongside confusing ‘greenwashing’ claims about how ‘natural’ a product is, has made it harder than ever for consumers to navigate the market and figure out which products are actually body safe and which ones aren’t.
The MADE SAFE seal helps to solve this problem by guaranteeing that certified products are pure and unadulterated, reinforcing our commitment to remain transparent about the ingredients within our products and educating customers on what they’re putting on and in their bodies.
For more information on MADE SAFE® visit www.madesafe.org.
Look for the seal and shop Made Safe products now:
AH! YES WB water-based personal lubricant
AH! YES OB plant-oil based personal lubricant
AH! YES VM vaginal moisturizer
*AH! YES® and MADE SAFE® update 2023
You may have noticed the disappearance of the MADE SAFE® certification across our website. We want to assure our customers that absolutely nothing in our strict ingredients policy has changed. Our dedication to pure and natural, certified organic and plant-based ingredients remains. What has changed is that phenoxyethanol has been removed from MADE SAFE's list of safe ingredients in totality, which means we no longer hold the certification.
Phenoxyethanol is a naturally occurring compound that has been used to preserve food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals for decades and is one of the most widely tested and well understood preservatives. Phenoxyethanol, like all preservatives, extends the shelf life of products by preventing the growth of harmful bacteria, molds, and yeasts.
Phenoxyethanol has been deemed safe for use in cosmetics and health products by the FDA, The European Union and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review. According to the European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, Phenoxyethanol is safe for all consumers – when used as a preservative in cosmetic products at a maximum concentration of 1%. Adverse systemic effects have been observed in toxicological studies on animals but only when the levels of exposure were many magnitudes higher (around 200-fold higher) than those to which consumers are exposed when using phenoxyethanol-containing cosmetic products.
This is in stark contrast to reports that imply that the presence of phenoxyethanol universally reduces the purity and safety of beauty and wellness products. AH! YES® WB and VM, our water-based personal lubricant and Vaginal Moisturizer both contain Phenoxyethanol. We use the smallest amount of phenoxyethanol needed to maintain product cleanliness and efficacy, this is significantly less than 1%.
AH! YES® believe Phenoxyethanol is the best preservative option available to ensure the safety of our water-based products and the most gentle preservative for intimate tissues.
Each one of our ingredients has been painstakingly tested to make sure it aligns with our mission to “Make Vaginas Happy!®” This is not just a slogan for our brand, but a promise to our customers that our priorities are to support and safeguard women’s intimate health.
